Business Directories

Women 'playing major economic role'

Manama, December 13, 2012

Islamic countries are witnessing a paradigm shift in understanding the role of women with more platforms being provided to stimulate their economic participation, said experts at a major forum in Bahrain.

Women have transitioned from being entrepreneurs to leading corporate and state financial institutions, according to representatives of chambers of commerce, government and private sectors of Islamic countries.

Over 75 women from 37 countries convened at the Sixth Forum for Businesswomen in Islamic Countries, at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Sanabis yesterday (December 12), said a report in our sister publication the Gulf Daily News.

"Over the last two decades, there has been a paradigm shift in the role of women and marked improvement of their status in Islamic countries," said Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture assistant secretary-general Attiya Ali on the sidelines.

"Men have begun to acknowledge and respect that women can make valuable economic contribution."

People in Islamic countries have also begun to accept the idea of women going out to work, she added.

"The collective evolvement of society has enabled greater empowerment of women," said Ali.

The economic role opens up political avenues for women in the Muslim world.

"We are seeing a change in mindsets as Islamic countries are opening up platforms for greater economic participation from women," she said. "Women are not just starting businesses but they're heading corporate sectors or running state banks, such as in Malaysia, which has a female state bank head."

Challenges and difficulties facing women in Islamic countries will be the highlight of the three-day conference, which is developed as a platform for women to work and invest together.